Pintado Petrel

Overview

The pintado petrel, also known as the Cape petrel or Cape fulmar, is a common and abundant seabird of the Southern Ocean belonging to the family Procellariidae. As the only member of the genus Daption, it is allied to fulmarine petrels and giant petrels, with an estimated population of around two million individuals.

Identification

• Size: 35–40 cm in length with a wingspan of 80–90 cm.
• Plumage: Black head and neck, white belly, breast, and underwings bordered in black; back and upperwings are black and white speckled, while the tail features a black band.
• Subspecies: D. c. capense has a white back with black spots, whereas the smaller D. c. australe has a solid blackish-brown back down to the rump.

Habitat

These birds breed on cliffs or level ground near the ocean on many Antarctic and subantarctic islands, including South Georgia, the Kerguelen Islands, and the Auckland Islands. During the breeding season they feed at sea around Antarctica, but in winter they range further north, extending as far as Angola and the Galapagos Islands.

Diet

Their diet consists of 80% crustaceans, particularly krill, along with fish and squid, which they obtain by surface seizing and diving to filter prey. They are also well known for following ships to eat edible waste and carcasses thrown overboard.

Did you know?

The genus name Daption is an anagram of the Portuguese word 'Pintado', which means 'painted', a reference to the bird's distinctive pied plumage noted by early navigators.